New Delhi: An Iranian filmmaker of repute, Reza Dormishian, was barred from travelling to India over what reports have said were Iranian authorities’ disapproval of his anti-regime views. His passport was also seized, it has been reported. There is lack of clarity over what charges he might face.
Variety has reported that Dormishian was supposed to appear at the International Film Festival of India in Goa, representing Dariush Mehrjui’s film A Minor. Mehrjui is a pioneer of Iran’s new wave in cinema.
The film festival was supposed to conclude yesterday. Mehrjui’s film was scheduled to be screened twice last week. The Variety report said that Iranian authorities confiscated Dormishian’s passport as he reached the Tehran airport. “It is not clear if Dormishian was arrested or what charges he must answer,” the report noted.
Deadline has reported that Dormishian is a screenwriter, director, documentary filmmaker and producer who has worked in several award-winning films. “His movies have often criticised aspects of Iranian society and have been subject to heavy censorship and lengthy bans in his home country,” the report says.
Iran’s filmmakers have faced a strenuous battle with state censorship and ostracism. In July 2022, internationally renowned director, Jafar Panahi was arrested in the midst of a fresh crackdown on dissidents and the enforcement of moral rules in the country. Panahi had earlier been under house arrest. Currently, widespread protests, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini after her arrest for “inappropriate attire”, pose one of the strongest challenges to the country’s clerical establishment since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Several media reports opine that it is Dormishian’s recent Instagram posts in support of the protests could have led to the state taking such action.
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